Mini Muffin tin Advent Calendar

Last weekend I helped with our ward's Super Saturday, this was one of the projects I was in charge of. Since I had such a hard time finding instructions for it, I thought I'd share how I made this one.
Supplies:
* Various Chistmasy scrapbook paper. (I used three different colors, and I got them from Hobby Lobby if you want the same paper. The red and green are both 12 x 12, the polka dot is 8 1/2 x 11)
* Black card stock (either 8 1/2 x 11 or 12x12 will work)
* Magnet tape (the kind that is sticky on one side. You want one that is moderately strong; we used one that was rated a 3 on a scale of 1-10)
* mini muffin tin (you can use one you already have, since you will still be able to use this throughout the year for cooking. If not, Walmart right now has them for $4.50)
*Numbers. I just typed them up and changed to cool different fonts. This part actually took the longest when I was designing mine, because I had to actually decide what each square was going to look like.
* embellishments: I used some tags (about $2 for like a 100 at walmart), some jute, some black and white ribbons I had laying around, some little buttons I also had laying around, and a package of seriously cute holiday buttons from Hobby Lobby for about $2. - you won't use the whole package.)
* 1 yard ribbon to hang the whole thing up if you want to.

Also: a paper cutter (mine's a cheap one from Hobby Lobby for $7), glue stick, and either Elmer's or glue dots (which are easier to use, but more expensive), and some good old patience.

If you buy everything, you will actually have enough stuff to make up about 3 of these, which would be a very cute early Christmas present.

First step: decide if you want to hang this up or not. If you don't, that's by far easier. Some in our group decided to glue super strong magnets to the back and hang this on the fridge. I decided to drill holes in mine. I used a bit that looked like this:

Don't ask me what kind of bit this is. It's a flattish 1/2 inch bit that fits in either a drill or a drill press. We used a drill. Here's how to do it if you're by yourself and don't have any clamps. Find a block of wood to go under the muffin tin. It needs to be thin enough to fit next to the cup part of the tin without lifting the edges. Ok, actually we couldn't find the right size, but I did use a scrap 2x4 for the drilling into part, and I also had a 1/2 inch slab that I balanced the rest of the tin on, like this:


Decide how far apart you want your holes, and mark with an x. Then set up the tin on the floor next to the wall. You're going to stand on the tin, and push it into the wall to help stabilize it. The just put the point in the middle of the x, start the drill and push hard. Just a note, if you end up drilling like 10 of these, the bit will get rather dull. It still works, but it also heats up the metal enough to leave burn marks in the wood. You do want to drill from the front, since it will leave a little jagged part.

Next, cut the black card stock into 2 1/4 inch squares. Cut the colored papers into 1 7/8 inch squares. Glue everything together with the glue stick. Embellish to your heart's content. The holiday buttons you can snip the posts off the back with a pair of fingernail clippers. When you're done, cut little squares from the magnet tape and stick one square on each corner of the black square. Fill the cups with treats/scripture quotes/etc, and cover with the squares. Thread the ribbon through the holes and tie a cute knot or bow at the top. And that's it. I'd also post the number sheet, but I did use some digital scrapbook numbers, and I'm not allowed to share those.

If you want to use the muffin tin throughout the year as a muffin tin, just put the numbers somewhere safe, and untie the ribbon.

Hope you enjoy!